Place your bets: What will this afternoon’s big holiday-weekend Friday news dump be?

posted at 2:01 pm on May 24, 2013 by Allahpundit

Reporters are knocking off early, readers are firing up their grills, and there are not one, not two, but three scandals swirling around the executive branch. We have, in other words, the makings of a five-alarm news fire. All O has to do is light the match. Here’s your thread to guess; name the story and the approximate time it breaks. Over/under is 5 p.m. ET.

When I floated this on Twitter, my replies column lit up with theories that Holder, abandoned now both by the left and the right, would be sent packing today. Intriguing — his days do appear to be numbered now that we know he lied under oath — but it seems too soon after last night’s revelation that he signed the search warrant for James Rosen’s e-mails. As a longtime Obama ally, surely he’ll be given a dignified waiting period before he’s sacrificed. Next Friday afternoon seems a better bet.

That was four days ago. Was the “something” he referred to there the fact that Holder authorized the Rosen probe? Or is it “something” else? Whatever the truth is, take it from the DNC: None of these are real scandals, okay?

While we wait for a bomb to drop, here’s Obama earlier today urging America not to give up on government just because of the misdeeds of “some.” Click the image to watch.

Breaking on Hot Air

Blowback

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Comments

Hmmm… FBI, DOJ, and OFA snooping into living rooms and bedrooms… I think that story might have legs.

El_Terrible on May 24, 2013 at 2:29 PM

Who knows. It’s certainly the means being offered for the moron masses to buy. Fortunately we’re not so stupid yet that gamers don’t hate all of this and the unveiling was a major flop. Unfortunately, they’re mostly bothered about how Kinect is pointless, and it’s easier to navigate menus and such with a controller anyway.

I only know I won’t be getting one. Always-online or once-a-day-online DRM is a deal breaker for me anyway. PS4 only mildly less horrid. I may get a WiiU, but in general the outlook for this generation is not so good.

I’ll join BC in dreaming and say both Obama and Biden were only nightmares and we all woke up and President Cruz was announcing the fifth new refinery going on line and the price of fuel was dropping to 75 cents a gallon. Oh, and the last 50 feet of the southern border was done.

Meanwhile, the deficit continues to fall at an unprecedented rate in the wake of a massive financial crisis, and now is anticipated to fall below $650 billion in 2013. Most of the new revenue is attributed to Obama’s tax increases on the wealthy, and if not for Tea Party obstructionism, additional tax revenue would have lowered the deficit to around $500 million in this year.

Yeah! Let’s screw the economy even more! Drag that last dollar out of people’s pockets. The government will see that it’s spent wisely. Just like all that Stimulus Money was spent wisely. We just need to rape people a little bit more. And continue to spend money we don’t have.

These scandals are the best possible scenario for the Tea Party, which really doesn’t want to be held accountable for its dimwitted economic policies which have only held back the President’s efforts to revive economic growth and grow middle class incomes.

Um… the sequester was Obama’s idea for reviving economic growth and grow middle class incomes. How many more times is this lie to be repeated, that Obama wasn’t responsible for this?

Asked by David Gregory whether his boss told the truth in the third presidential debate that “the sequester is not something that I’ve proposed. It is something that Congress has proposed,” Sperling finally had to admit that “yes, in fact, the sequestration was President Obama’s plan.” Watch him wilt.

Meanwhile, the deficit continues to fall at an unprecedented rate in the wake of a massive financial crisis, and now is anticipated to fall below $650 billion in 2013.

bayam on May 24, 2013 at 2:31 PM

Hate to break it to you, but the deficit continues to grow. We still spend more than we take in.

Bitter Clinger on May 24, 2013 at 2:42 PM

No, that’s a Tea Party myth. The deficit, relative to GDP, has fallen at a historic rate under Obama. In absolute terms, the deficit is anticipated to fall to around $650 bil in 2013. It would fall even lower had House allowed Obama to end more upper class tax loopholes and restore the capital gains tax to Clinton era levels.

Saw this teased earlier this week on a site that seemed less than reliable, but it claimed that unnamed insiders were whispering that Obama was “incapacitated” during the hours no one saw him or talked to him. The implication was that he was drinking or even drunk.

Seems unlikely to me. Not that he may have gone upstairs and gotten sloshed, but that anybody around him would talk about it – unless it was a pissed off SS agent. They aren’t happy about getting thrown under the bus on the prostitution thing.

1) the missing 2 days of emails for Benghazi.
2) some other damning documents for IRS investigation
3) resignations or firings for any of the 3 scandals
4) Mooch files for divorce after catching Jugears and Valerie Jarrett doing the nasty.

.
Internal IRS memos documenting an additional harassment effort by government employees being paid to troll conservative websites and blogs with daily SCOAMF Administration talking points will be released today at 5:00 PM.

Nanacy Pelosi will comment over the weekend, “This was a program to hire the mentally handicapped and give them a sense of accomplishment. I think they provided an invaluable service to the country!”

Killery will move into the White House with Mooch.
And then Hussein, Reggie, Valerie, Mooch and Hillary ,Mooch’s mom and Mooch’s kids will happily for ever on taxpayer’s dime , in that big palace……and Blinton will move in too , so that there is a POTUS in place when Hussein is getting serviced !!

I’ll join BC in dreaming and say both Obama and Biden were only nightmares and we all woke up and President Cruz was announcing the fifth new refinery going on line and the price of fuel was dropping to 75 cents a gallon. Oh, and the last 50 feet of the southern border was done.

Meanwhile, the deficit continues to fall at an unprecedented rate in the wake of a massive financial crisis, and now is anticipated to fall below $650 billion in 2013. Most of the new revenue is attributed to Obama’s tax increases on the wealthy, and if not for Tea Party obstructionism, additional tax revenue would have lowered the deficit to around $500 million in this year.

Yeah! Let’s screw the economy even more! Drag that last dollar out of people’s pockets. The government will see that it’s spent wisely. Just like all that Stimulus Money was spent wisely. We just need to rape people a little bit more. And continue to spend money we don’t have.

FOOL!

GarandFan on May 24, 2013 at 2:48 PM

Your grasp of economic policy is quite limited when you suggest that slightly higher taxes on the upper class reduce economic growth, given the 20% increase in wealth experienced by the upper class over the past 5 years, a time when middle class income has stagnated or fallen.

As for your claim that new will tax revenue will be ‘spent’ by the government, deficit reduction via higher taxes on the wealthy is a very effective strategy that Bill Clinton also employed with successful outcomes. Regardless of your uneducated assumption that raising taxes results in more wasteful gov spending, every objective study has reached the opposite conclusion. It’s another mantra of the Tea Party that’s completely delusional:

And then Niskanen, looking over 25 years of budget data, noticed something about [“starve the beast”]: It didn’t work. In fact, attempts to starve the beast by tax cuts seemed to lead to increased federal spending.

Niskanen looked at both spending and taxes as a percentage of GDP. On average, he found, if federal revenues declined by 1 percent, federal spend- ing increased by 0.15 percent. When revenues rose, on the other hand, relative spending decreased. A fur- ther study in 2009 by another Cato economist, Michael New, came to the same conclusion after the gluttonous administration of George W. Bush. Under Bush and his mostly Republican Congress, new benefits like subsidized Medicare drugs and increased federal education spending followed on the heels of large tax cut

No, that’s a Tea Party myth. The deficit, relative to GDP, has fallen at a historic rate under Obama. In absolute terms, the deficit is anticipated to fall to around $650 bil in 2013. It would fall even lower had House allowed Obama to end more upper class tax loopholes and restore the capital gains tax to Clinton era levels.

A. I’m talking about the overall deficit (or “debt” if you prefer). We still spend more than we bring in.
B. Restoring the capital gains tax is a sure way to choke off investment and stagnate what wimpy a recovery we already have going.

No, that’s a Tea Party myth. The deficit, relative to GDP, has fallen at a historic rate under Obama. In absolute terms, the deficit is anticipated to fall to around $650 bil in 2013. It would fall even lower had House allowed Obama to end more upper class tax loopholes and restore the capital gains tax to Clinton era levels.

A. I’m talking about the overall deficit (or “debt” if you prefer). We still spend more than we bring in.
B. Restoring the capital gains tax is a sure way to choke off investment and stagnate what wimpy a recovery we already have going.

But hey, you’re a real genius.
//

Bitter Clinger on May 24, 2013 at 3:03 PM

As many economists have pointed out, there’s never been any evidence that cutting the capital gains tax in half resulted in significant increases in investment (witness meager growth under Bush despite a housing bubble). Likewise, there’s no evidence that increasing capital gains in the past has had a negative impact in investment.

Businesses invest in new capital and expansion due to increased consumer demand. You build a new widget factory when you think you can sell more widgets, not because of tax policy. At the end of the day, the lower capital gains tax has helped those living completely off of investment income far more than it’s helped the economy.

You know, you could actually express some appreciation that the deficit has fallen this far, this fast.

bayam on May 24, 2013 at 3:00 PM

You draw the wrong conclusion. Your source says “When revenues rose, on the other hand, relative spending decreased.” It says nothing about increased taxes. Revenues can increase on lower taxes in times of robust economic growth. Additionally, the quote mentions that “relative spending decreased.” How the hell is the decrease in relative spending measured? Relative to what? The increase in revenues? I’m no economist, but this is a semantic shell game.

No, that’s a Tea Party myth. The deficit, relative to GDP, has fallen at a historic rate under Obama. In absolute terms, the deficit is anticipated to fall to around $650 bil in 2013. It would fall even lower had House allowed Obama to end more upper class tax loopholes and restore the capital gains tax to Clinton era levels.

Wait! Huh?
Deficit to drop $650 billion? Well, not too difficult when you raise the baseline a trillion or so.
Sure, you’ll blame Bush, but he was browbeaten by everyone hoping to get your hero elected. In closed door meetings, our leaders found out what could happen if there wasn’t a stimulus. Oh, and the two Dem houses of Congress had nothing to do with this???

Businesses invest in new capital and expansion due to increased consumer demand. You build a new widget factory when you think you can sell more widgets, not because of tax policy. At the end of the day, the lower capital gains tax has helped those living completely off of investment income far more than it’s helped the economy.

bayam on May 24, 2013 at 3:12 PM

And your idea to help the economy is to take away this money so they have less to live on ? Nice.

It’s time for this stuff to stop. The cut and paste trools need to be escorted out the door. I think we’ve all been patient. And I think we all know what would happen if one of us was making a truthful statement on HuffPo – let alone lying ass cut and paste bullshit, over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over.

Enough is enough. No quarter will be given, and if it gets me banned, so be it.

How about a report that the government snooping on AP turns up a new Fast and furious “whistle blower“? We know that the common thread in the bugging campaign was against reporters looking into F&F so maybe we’ll find out that a gun that was allowed to walk was seized from the Tsarnev Brothers after the bombing?

Killery will move into the White House with Mooch.
And then Hussein, Reggie, Valerie, Mooch and Hillary ,Mooch’s mom and Mooch’s kids will happily for ever on taxpayer’s dime , in that big palace……and Blinton will move in too , so that there is a POTUS in place when Hussein is getting serviced !!

burrata on May 24, 2013 at 2:59 PM

Sounds like a happy commune to me :) if only we didn’t have to subsidize it :)

You can argue it any way that you want. But 3.8 Trillion spending minus 2.7 Trillion equals 1.1 Trillion deficit. True always equals true. Prime numbers are 1, 3, 7 on and on.

Just because you lie over and over, doesn’t make it the truth.

All that I’ve done is present the numbers from CBO, broadly accepted by Wall Street, and reported by Bloomberg and other sources. If you’re going to contest the projected $650 billion deficit number, let us know why it’s incorrect and feel free to offer a correction.

Your grasp of economic policy is quite limited when you suggest that slightly higher taxes on the upper class reduce economic growth, given the 20% increase in wealth experienced by the upper class over the past 5 years, a time when middle class income has stagnated or fallen.

bayam on May 24, 2013 at 3:00 PM

Your grasp of economic policy is quite limited when you suggest that higher taxes on the upper class will balance the budget or reduce the National Debt.

Given that a Democrat has been President over the past (roughtly) 5 years, and we have had a Democratic Senate for the past 5 years and that there was a Democratic house for the majority of that time, it would seem that Democratic rule favors the rich and oppresses the middle class based on the second part of your statement.

Businesses invest in new capital and expansion due to increased consumer demand. You build a new widget factory when you think you can sell more widgets, not because of tax policy. At the end of the day, the lower capital gains tax has helped those living completely off of investment income far more than it’s helped the economy.

bayam on May 24, 2013 at 3:12 PM

And your idea to help the economy is to take away this money so they have less to live on ? Nice.

Jabberwock on May 24, 2013 at 3:21 PM

If part of the upper class that’s realized a 20% increase in net worth over the past 5 years, yes. There’s no reason to subsidize lower taxes that the nation could never afford (see the deficit projections from Bush’s own Treasury) by borrowing money from China and running up federal debt.

With the increasing number of people asking “where was the president” on the night of the Benghazi attack, I’m going to guess that the president is going to hold a late Friday pm presser to at long last answer the question. Bwahahahahahahaha.

BTW, I’m not saying this country is out of the woods yet. The deficit will fall to around $350 bil before increasing again after 2015. This country must come to terms with the costs of healthcare and social security as the country ages. Although it’s only a temporary problem, as the millennials are a larger generation than the boomers. Some mix of higher taxes and lower benefits will be required to fix the problem- a ‘grand bargain’ still needs to happen.

oldroy: Have I offended you? What gives?
I apologize for some etiquette fauz-pas. As I read back, I may have misattributed something to you. But it was intended as a complement. Your entire post looked like it might have been a cut and paste, but I assumed everything below the first line was you. I liked your comment.

Sorry. Stupid, lying ass-clown. Forgot that. Make up whatever you want, ass-clown. Do you think that Obama isn’t borrowing his deficit money from whoever will lend it, ass-clown? Do you think that Obama spending more, and a larger deficit is somehow, less than the lower amount that Bush spent and the lower deficits incurred?

Lower is always lower ass-clown. Higher is always higher. Obama’s spending and year after year deficits are off the chart high.

If part of the upper class that’s realized a 20% increase in net worth over the past 5 years, yes. There’s no reason to subsidize lower taxes that the nation could never afford (see the deficit projections from Bush’s own Treasury) by borrowing money from China and running up federal debt.

bayam on May 24, 2013 at 3:36 PM

So, taking more of someone else money is better than borrowing.

No mention of spending less. You know, this really is part of the equation. If you do not consider it, you’ll never fix the problem.

BTW, I am not wealthy, yet capital gains do play a part in my planning.

Saw this teased earlier this week on a site that seemed less than reliable, but it claimed that unnamed insiders were whispering that Obama was “incapacitated” during the hours no one saw him or talked to him. The implication was that he was drinking or even drunk.

Seems unlikely to me. Not that he may have gone upstairs and gotten sloshed, but that anybody around him would talk about it – unless it was a pissed off SS agent. They aren’t happy about getting thrown under the bus on the prostitution thing.

Curmudgeon on May 24, 2013 at 2:53 PM

High on drugs I can believe, but I don’t think he gets falling-down drunk like Hillary did a few months ago.

The run-rate for White House parties with the Hollywood set still seems to be two a week, which is one on the weekend and one mid-week. That would expose him to all the drugs he could wish for, and booze too.

Saw this teased earlier this week on a site that seemed less than reliable, but it claimed that unnamed insiders were whispering that Obama was “incapacitated” during the hours no one saw him or talked to him. The implication was that he was drinking or even drunk.

Curmudgeon on May 24, 2013 at 2:53 PM

Honestly, if thats the reason, I’d be ok with it.

No, wait. He was told about the events in Benghazi at ~5:00.

For this to be true, it means he knew Americans were under fire and then got drunk?

Not slow at all. Sorry. I just can’t stand that these people can be allowed to be so disruptive. Every post it’s some kind of bizarre math trick, or semantic device and we’re supposed to just agree. And if you ignore them, they’ll comment 1000 times so you can’t even read the comments from others. There is only one purpose for bayam to be here and that is to disrupt. Ditto for NP, LFOD etc., etc.

In an explosive new bombshell report, the New Yorker’s Ryan Lizza claims that the Obama administration deliberately kept Fox News reporter James Rosen in the dark about the warrant to search through his personal emails.

Some new info in the leak case that targeted Fox’s James Rosen coming shortly…— Ryan Lizza (@RyanLizza) May 24, 2013

As many Far-Left economists like my other Cult Leader, Paulie Krugman, have pointed out, there’s never been any evidence that cutting the capital gains tax in half resulted in significant increases in investment (witness meager growth under Bush despite a housing bubble). Likewise, there’s no evidence that increasing capital gains in the past has had a negative impact in investment.

bayam on May 24, 2013 at 3:12 PM

Edited for accuracy.

Oh, and thanks for Blaming Bush. I see he still lives rent-free next to your 2 remaining brain cells!

In an explosive new bombshell report, the New Yorker’s Ryan Lizza claims that the Obama administration deliberately kept Fox News reporter James Rosen in the dark about the warrant to search through his personal emails.

Some new info in the leak case that targeted Fox’s James Rosen coming shortly…— Ryan Lizza (@RyanLizza) May 24, 2013

Del Dolemonte on May 24, 2013 at 4:25 PM

It must just kill these media types that only reporters that were worthy to be spied on were from Fox. They either have to accept that big brother is allowed to look over their shoulder, or that Fox is the only News organization doing anything worthy of being called investigative.

It must just kill these media types that only reporters that were worthy to be spied on were from Fox. They either have to accept that big brother is allowed to look over their shoulder, or that Fox is the only News organization doing anything worthy of being called investigative.

Darn, I never thought about the commune angle. I was angling for the Obamas and Clintons changing partners making BHO the first openly gay president and Bill the first person to serve as both President and First Lady. Historic.

Rather than watching our borders and protecting us from terrorists, the Department of Homeland Security has been keeping a close eye on Tea Party rallies in California this week.

What’s so interesting about 60 tea partiers protesting the IRS in San Jose, California on Tuesday, May 21st? The fact that this bit of information was conveyed to the protesters by a Department of Homeland Security officer who was also in attendance.

What was a DHS agent doing at the San Jose Tea Party protest? Why aren’t DHS officers protecting the homeland against foreign enemies armed with explosives and hate? Perhaps because the Obama Administration is more worried about domestic “enemies” armed with the Constitution and love of country.

…

DHS Agent Man also let slip (or, conveniently leaked in an effort to intimidate) this juicy tidbit: San Jose had the largest turnout in all of California.

Whoa!

So they weren’t just spying on us in San Jose and monitoring us in San Francisco, they were watching us throughout the entire state!